Dollar tops ¥108 in Tokyo trading

The dollar rose to one-month highs above ¥108 in Tokyo trading Thursday, cheered by the United States and China showing signs of coming closer to each other in their trade talks.

At 5 p.m., the dollar stood slightly easier at ¥107.88-93, up from ¥107.80 at the same time Wednesday. The euro was at $1.1017, down from $1.1034, and at ¥118.88-89, down from ¥118.95.

The dollar topped the ¥108 threshold for the first time since Aug. 1 in the morning, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a postponement of the next round of tariff hikes on Chinese goods by two weeks until Oct. 15, traders said.

In the afternoon, the U.S. currency was lifted above ¥108.10 by a media report about China’s move to resume purchasing U.S. agricultural products ahead of the upcoming ministerial-level trade talks with the United States next month, they said.

The greenback trimmed gains on profit-taking in late afternoon trading, with players increasingly taking to the sidelines prior to the European Central Bank’s policy-setting meeting and the release of the U.S. consumer price index for August later Thursday, a currency broker said.